Johnny Mythen (Wexford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister and his officials. Two things hit me straight away, which affect the area where I live. One is the horse and greyhound racing fund. While it is welcome that it is up by 4%, there was to be a review of it. What is the breakdown of that fund? Traditionally, it was 80:20 but there was supposed to be a review of that. Where is that review at present?

There are significant decreases in many of the categories. It is understandable that much of that is due to BAR but we knew that fund was going to finish up. There is a 49% decrease in funding for fisheries, which equates to approximately €44 million. Is the Minister taking on board any additional support measures for that?

There is an increase of 270% for the organic farming scheme. That is a very significant increase. Will the Minister explain that? On the other side of it, farmers have to cope with carbon tax measures and the just transition fund being down 40% to 42%, which is €2.8 million. As the Minister knows, it will be an expense for farmers to decrease their carbon tax. Are there any measures for that? Funding for beef sustainability schemes is down 39%. Will the Minister provide details on the significant increase in this expenditure on organic farming? What schemes will it be allotted to?